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'This is a really stupid thing to do, Roman.'

He couldn't really argue with that. 'Do you actually want me to stop?'

'...Yes. But I get it. Just promise me you'll try and be smart about your stupidity.'

'Heh. Uh, sure.' He wished he could feel as lighthearted about the situation as he did about this conversation. Banda was still shrinking from view. A couple more minutes like this, and Roman might not be able to see him at all, anymore.

'Hurry up, slowpoke.'

Talons wrapped around his torso, and Roman jolted forward, suddenly faster. The flesh on his face distorted as the wind screamed past him, and he was forced to either squint or shut his eyes completely.

He craned his neck up to try and get a look at Pauline, but it was difficult. He could see her wings, rigid and angled, not unlike those of a fighter jet as she carried him across the sky, higher and higher until they neared the clouds.

And soon, Roman realized that she was actually gaining on Banda. They were still keeping their distance, as she'd moved them much higher up, but it didn't seem like Banda was going to get away, now.

Damn. How fast was she going? It was hard to judge, but was this even faster than an airplane? It sure felt like it, but maybe that was just the enormous wind pressure playing tricks on him.

Either way, it was nice that he didn't have to concentrate so hard. He could just wait. And think about his next move.

Which maybe wasn't such a good thing, actually.

Because he had no idea what he was going to do.

-+-+-+-+-

For the tenth time today, Raul Blackburn crouch-walked down this long, stony corridor.

He kept pausing. Not out of hesitance or fear, but because he was being mindful of his footsteps. The acoustics throughout Logden Prison made it all but impossible to sneak around without making any noise. The brown-and-black floors were all concrete, as were many of the walls. Each footstep carried far and wide, and guards were everywhere, to boot.

So the trick, he'd decided, was to only move when others were moving--to mask his footsteps in those of the guards.

It had been working well so far. Progress was slow but steady. Thanks to this Invisibility ring, the operation to break out their captive brethren from this prison had not yet escalated into a fight.

Yet, being the key word there.